Officer Larry DePrimo presenting a barefoot homeless man in New York’s Time Square with boots. (AP)

A cold New York night brought out the best in warm-hearted police officer Larry DePrimo.

The foot-patrol cop has suddenly become the international symbol of holiday kindness after he was photographed buying shoes for a sockless, barefoot homeless man.

DePrimo said he was struggling to stay warm the night of Nov. 14 when he spotted a shoeless man on Broadway in Times Square.

“I myself had two pairs of socks on plus my combat boots and my feet were still freezing,” DePrimo recalled today.

“I went up to him and I was like, `Where are your shoes?’ He said, `It’s OK officer I’ve never had a pair of shoes but God bless you, thank you for doing what you are doing.’ “

The shoeless man’s kindness blew away DePrimo and he knew right then he needed to act.

“I just looked down at this gentleman’s feet and you could see the blisters and like I said, I it was just so cold that I had to do something,” the officer said.

“ Again what sticks out in my mind is that he was just a kind gentleman that I really had to help him. I wanted to.”

He ducked into a nearby Sketchers store, purchased socks, a $75 pair of shoes and personally fit it onto the man’s freezing feet.

DePrimo had no idea his actions were being photographed by a passing tourist, Jennifer Foster, a civilian employee for the Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff.

“At that time, I didn’t even know that somebody had taken a picture. So I was just doing my job, knelt down put the socks on him, the shoes on him lifted him back up and said `Listen sir do you want to go get a cup of coffee, get something to eat?’ ” DePrimo said.